Ex-Thai DPM: Myanmar Must End Conflict Or Face Humanitarian Crisis
By Vijian Paramasivam
PHNOM PENH, May 30 (Bernama) -- Former Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prof Dr Surakiart Sathirathai said Myanmar military leaders and all resistance groups must end the conflict immediately, failing which could drive the nation into a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
Surakiart, who was also the former Thai foreign minister, said the derailed peace process coupled with the recent earthquake has only punished millions of innocent Myanmar people.
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At least 3.5 million have been displaced internally due to the armed conflict and the March earthquake killed over 3,800 people.
According to the Myanmar Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, 15.2 million or one in four people are already facing hunger in 2025.
The current ceasefire, declared by the junta to facilitate relief efforts post-earthquake, will expire on May 31.
'2025 is a crucial year for peace in Myanmar. We have to work together to ensure that the ceasefire and inclusive dialogue can take place before the election.
'The fighting on the ground that we have seen in the past years has come to the point that no one can win total control of the territory in Myanmar,' Surakiart, currently the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council Chairman, told Bernama from Bangkok.
The veteran politician served as Thailand's deputy prime minister between 2005 and 2006 and was the foreign minister from 2001 to 2005.
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